THE grieving father of an intelligence officer killed in the Afghanistan helicopter crash said: “He was extremely patriotic and very proud to be serving and fighting for his country.”

Flight Lieutenant Rakesh Chauhan of the Royal Air Force, one of five dead in the helicopter crash[PA]

The MoD has denied Taliban claims that insurgents shot the helicopter down, saying that initial investigations indicated a “tragic accident” as the cause.

Kishor Chauhan, 61, paid tribute to his RAF flight lieutenant son Rakesh, 29, who was among five British servicemen killed when their helicopter went down in Kandahar province on Saturday morning.

The respected businessman from Cropston, Leicestershire, said: “We were feeling very apprehensive about his life in the Forces and the dangers associated with it. But that is all he ever wanted to do and we, as his family, supported him.”

Flt Lt Chauhan, who studied at St Andrews University at the same time as Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, had been days from the end of his third tour of duty in Afghanistan.